The eastern side of the transport ship.
The harbor, where numerous backup vessels were moored, was now overflowing with people. The pirates were coming in with overwhelming force, and the control room for the defensive installations had been seized by traitors from the very beginning. With no way to deploy the magic barriers to intercept the shells falling from the sky, the defending escorts were forced to fight while retreating. The mood of the nobles had shifted from indignation to pure terror. They scrambled toward the harbor, desperate to board the small boats and flee at the first sign of danger; saving their own lives was the only thing that mattered now.
Crowding and trampling broke out across the harbor. Nobles vied with one another to board the vessels, these once-glittering figures of the upper class losing all semblance of their former grace. They traded insults and even came to blows over space on the ships. The irony was that the number of boats moored in the harbor was not insufficient. This pre-planned life-saving measure had long ago accounted for the maximum personnel capacity of the transport ship. Of course, it had only accounted for the nobles; slaves and subordinates were not qualified to board.
In the midst of this senseless struggle, people were pushed into the sea from time to time. Those who were not good swimmers could only flail desperately, eventually meeting their end by drowning.
In this moment where everyone was driven by pure selfishness, the act of lending a helping hand seemed like something that only existed in ancient times. Lyumion watched this scene, feeling nothing but a profound sense of tragedy.
“Prince Lyumion, your subordinate has returned.”
The captain of the guards, Yakura, returned at that moment to report. He was confused as to why Lyumion had not yet boarded a boat. Given Lyumion’s status, no noble would dare compete with him for a vessel.
“What is the situation,” Lyumion asked in a heavy voice.
“The enemy is pursuing us from the rear, and they outnumber us. A Diamond-rank powerhouse among them is our greatest threat. It is only a matter of time before the defensive line is shattered.” Yakura knelt on one knee, supporting his body with his sheathed sword, his head bowed as he spoke.
“In my humble opinion, it would be best for Prince Lyumion to board a ship early and prepare to take refuge.”
“Is that so.” Lyumion returned Yakura’s suggestion with a smile, yet he made no move. He simply turned his head and looked calmly at the surface of the sea.
A flock of seabirds flapped against the water and took flight. The humidity in the air seemed to have increased significantly.
“Is a storm coming…” Lyumion whispered. A transport ship that was essentially an artificial island naturally did not fear a storm, but it was a different story for ordinary small boats.
“Boarding is an unnecessary action.”
“I am waiting for Rinne Tenki,” Lyumion said to himself. “If she returns, it means she has defeated Molly Cynthia, and the threat of the pirates will no longer be a concern. In that case, there is no need to take refuge.”
“If she does not return, I cannot escape Molly Cynthia’s grasp on this vast ocean.”
Molly’s racial talent allowed her to manipulate the power of the sea. The entire ocean was her bastion. Unless he reached the mainland, he could only remain immersed in the terror of her abilities. Lyumion knew all of this.
The outcome of the duel between Rinne Tenki and Molly would decide his fate. Whether he boarded a ship or not no longer mattered.
“I see. I understand.”
Yakura understood Lyumion’s meaning and remained by his side, ready to deal with any threat that might attack.
Threats were closing in; protecting Prince Lyumion was the only thing he needed to do.
Yakura had already placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and his intuition for perceiving threats was sharpened to the limit. With his swordsmanship talent—Defense Counter—combined with his Gold-rank battle qi, protecting Lyumion in the face of a Diamond-rank powerhouse would not be a difficult task.
“Pirates! The pirates are here!”
It was unknown who let out the first cry. The terror carried in those words spread with extreme speed. After a brief, deathly silence, the already panicked crowd lost control completely. Everyone was screaming, desperately trying to board the ships, using every means possible to escape the demonic hands of the pirates.
One person managed to jump onto a boat with great difficulty, and five or six people followed immediately after. Even though one could see at a glance that the boat had reached its full capacity, before the initial boarders could even breathe a sigh of relief, another four or five people jumped onto the vessel.
Are they insane?! This was the shock of those already on board.
I want to live! This was the only thought in the minds of those jumping.
The result of this was that many ships sank due to overloading, and many nobles sank forever into the sea because of it. Before the pirates had even attacked in force, many had already died.
“Has the defensive line already been breached?” Lyumion did not want to offer any commentary on this hellish scene. He was already extremely weary, and he asked Yakura without even turning his head.
Yakura applied an Eagle Eye support spell to his eyes and looked toward the direction where the first shouts of the pirate arrival had come from. After a moment of silence, he slowly unsheathed his sword. His entire spirit and energy were raised to the absolute peak, ready to unleash a devastating blow at any moment.
“They have arrived.” Lyumion understood the situation the moment he heard the blade leave its scabbard. The pirates had arrived even faster than imagined. “I leave my safety in your hands, Yakura.”
“Yes, as you command.” Yakura nodded.
Just as both of them were standing ready for the pirates attacking from the rear, the unexpected happened.
As if a giant were wielding a hammer to strike the earth, a sudden, thunderous roar of a cannon caused most of those present to temporarily lose their hearing.
The harbor was not equipped with any cannons.
Not long after the first roar ended, a second boom echoed. Lyumion pressed his hand against his ear, which was seeping a thin trail of blood, and looked toward the direction where the ground was vibrating the most. That single glance chilled his heart to the core.
A hideous protrusion appeared on the steel gates that controlled the entry and exit of ships. After the second boom ended, another protrusion appeared.
Someone was attacking the gates!
The cannon shells roared one after another. Lyumion and the others could only watch helplessly as the gates gradually distorted, eventually being hammered into scrap metal by the cannon fire, turning into a clump of iron. They were powerless to stop it.
After a large gap was blasted through the steel gates, dark cannon barrels poked through, aiming directly at the boats in the harbor.
The nobles who had previously felt lucky to have successfully boarded their ships certainly did not think so now.
A cannonball whistled through the air and struck a ship filled with nobles, causing a massive explosion. The flames generated by the blast instantly engulfed several surrounding ships.
The nobles screamed in terror. Pirate ships entered the harbor one by one through the gap. More and more cannon barrels were aimed at the rescue vessels, firing upon them as if they were nothing more than target practice.
The light of the fires reflected off Lyumion’s face. He had lost the energy to even think. Yakura let out a sigh. The speed of the pirates’ attack was beyond expectations; they had launched a lightning-fast campaign, catching them all off guard. The situation was now beyond salvation.
“I offer this body to Amidar.” Yakura decided to fight to the bitter end, determined not to let Lyumion suffer even a scratch before he died.
***
The surface of the sea in the harbor was now a sea of fire. The rescue ships had all sunk into the ocean, and the only vessels now moored in the harbor were pirate ships.
The surviving nobles had all been captured by the pirates. Even Lyumion was kneeling on the ground with his hands tied behind his back, awaiting the pirates’ judgment.
“Which of you is the Prince? Where are Lyumion and Arthur?”
The Diamond-rank powerhouse among the pirates, a shirtless fat man with a large belly, was currently stepping on the unconscious Yakura. He rubbed his messy beard as he scanned the captured nobles.
“Is it you?” The Diamond-rank powerhouse, the first mate on Molly’s ship—Pompom Rachel—grabbed a young noble by the hair and asked in a calm tone.
The young noble’s eyes rolled in terror. His gaze caught Lyumion, and he was about to say something when he suddenly foamed at the mouth and collapsed, quickly losing his life.
“No?” Pompom walked toward the next noble and ordered his subordinates to join in questioning the captives about their identities, intending to find Lyumion and Arthur as quickly as possible. This was Captain Molly’s order.
They were searching for people by asking them one by one. Although it was a clumsy method, it was the only thing they could do.
A portrait of the Princes of Amidar had never been circulated. The King had also ordered high mages to cast cognitive interference spells on them, making it impossible for the Princes’ images to remain in others’ memories for long. Even so, the King still felt it was not enough. He ordered a special slave girl to cast a curse on everyone in Amidar: those who betrayed the Amidar Royal Family would surely die.
Just like the young noble moments ago; he had wanted to reveal Lyumion’s whereabouts, only to be killed by the curse. To find the real Lyumion and Arthur, they could only ask one by one. If someone refused to speak, they used truth serum. If someone wasn’t killed by the curse after speaking, they were certainly not a Prince.
Lyumion knew that he would eventually be exposed if this continued. Was he destined to fall into the fate of being a pirate captive after all? Was this despair?
However, at this very moment, Lyumion did not feel a sense of despair. Instead, he calmly observed his situation. He noticed that while Pompom led a group of pirates to search for him and that idiot Arthur, the other pirates were busy transporting supplies and treasures onto the ships. The captured slaves were also being driven onto the ships. The harbor, which had been designed to moor a large number of vessels, had instead provided a convenience for the pirates. It was truly ironic.
Most of the captured slaves were young girls. Lyumion understood that Molly wanted to select candidates for “slave girl seeds” from among them. Her ambition was truly not small; she wanted to further expand her power.
So, at this point, what was the use of him knowing all this? It seemed there was no use at all.
—Forget about the thoughts of despair. A turning point might appear in the next second. That is the possibility I believe in!
The words of Baiya Eifel Clorom had seemed incomprehensible when he first heard them. Was he now following that mantra?
Lyumion could not help but chuckle. What was wrong with him? The searching pirates were constantly approaching him. At a time when he should have been feeling despair, the thought of it simply would not arise.
This feeling isn’t bad. Lyumion mused in his heart. Even now, knowing how dark and tragic the future might be, he felt somewhat relaxed.
Was it resignation? No, it was likely that he had entrusted his fate to the “turning point” mentioned by that strange girl. If so, he really didn’t have anything left to worry about.
“Speaking of which… how strange.” Having relaxed, Lyumion finally noticed a point he had been overlooking.
If the pirates wanted to search for him and Arthur, they would naturally have to capture both of them. However, while he was here, as for that idiot Arthur—Lyumion realized he hadn’t seen a single trace of him.
Arthur had clearly run away before him, yet he had not arrived at the harbor. What on earth was that fellow doing?